The last note closed with a plea for more quality in the reporting of information. Let me give an example which lacks quality. In Germanna Record 7, John Wayland quotes John Fontaine's diary extensively, with respect to Fontaine's first visit to Germanna. I have the book, The Journal of John Fontaine , as edited by Edward Porter Alexander. This edition of the book was published by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, copyrighted in 1972. Wayland follows the text of Fontaine (from an earlier edition), except for one sentence which he omits. This sentence says, "The Germans live very miserably."
By omitting this sentence, an incorrect view of life at Germanna is presented. In many stories, the Germans are presented as favorites of Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood. Or the phrase "under the patronage of Gov. Spotswood" is used. This latter description might be interpreted as having his support and favor. The omitted sentence would make one doubt whether it is appropriate to use the word patronage .
There is an act of Spotswood that also makes one question how much support he gave the Germans. He had an act passed, not long after the Germans were settled in Fort Germanna, which forbid anyone else from hunting game within five miles of Fort Germanna. The Germans were to have exclusive hunting rights in this region.
This might be interpreted in two ways. First, it might be considered as support for them by Spotswood (using the power of the colony). Or it might be interpreted as his abandoning the Germans to fend for themselves. "I supported them. I gave them exclusive hunting rights."
Another act of the Governor might be viewed in two ways. He had the Parish of (Old) St. George established, where the residents were excused from paying tithes to the Church of England. Was this an act of kindness on his part? Perhaps he was thinking more of his own pocketbook. Since he had paid the transportation, in part, of the Germans, they might be considered as his servants. Normally the master paid the tithes for the servants. Thus, was he being kind to the Germans, or was he protecting his own interests?
The omission of the one sentence with five words changes the picture of what life at Fort Germanna was like. It was very hard, probably devoid of many small pleasantries that they might have enjoyed at home in Germany. They were on the frontier, beyond the usual bounds of civilization, and isolated in primitive conditions. They had to work hard to clear land to grow some food. Their first attempts may not have been all that successful.
When I observed the omission of this quoted sentence in an "
official
" publication of the German Foundation, I resolved to be very suspicious of anything they wrote. They (John Wayland in particular) were trying to "doctor" history to make it conform to what they wanted it to be.
(03 Jan 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.